Bread and circuses-- one of the defining characteristics of the fall of the Roman Empire brought to you by Faroah Obama and The Learning Channel.

Rather than educate and uplift us, we have been dealt a disservice appealing to the lowest common denominator.

Toddlers and Tiaras, The Real Housewives of (insert city), The Kardashians, The View, Good Morning America, The Today Show....it's no wonder that most of the time I use my TV to watch DVDs of classic movies.

They can vote!

I'm happy to say I've never seen the show (nor do I intend to), but Miss Betsy has a good take on it. Thanks for the reassurance. ;)

Yes, and I sat next to one of these people at a dinner party yesterday. An 80+ year old woman, who is rabidly pro-Obama based on total lies and fiction. Among them, that Romney is somehow to blame for the Iraq war. And she wanted to debate me, because she was so sure of her facts and convictions.
Definitely a Honey Boo Boo watcher

I've seen a couple clips of this girl and can't figure out what the attraction is. She's overweight and isn't even cute to make up for it.

Saw a picture of the whole family sitting on the front steps.

It explains a lot.

Betsey's Word of the Day: FACTOID. Please get out your thesaurus and find synonym.

Its like driving past a car wreck...you know you shouldn't look, but you just can't stop yourself

This is what happens when "The Learning Chanel" rebrands itself as its own initials. It was a tacit admission the pandering was about to begin, but good god did they hit bottom fast.

I think June (the mom) is laughing all the way to the bank. They are playing so stereotypical that it's a joke. Besides, can anyone tell me she's worse than Mama Kardashian or Mama Lohan?

These people aren't rocket scientists, for sure. They seem like decent people who obviously didn't have much in life and are enjoying it all the same.

Yeah, I think June is way smarter than anyone gives her credit for. I just cannot understand their fascination with farting. Yes, I have watched the show, and one positive thing I take away from it is that the kids play outside and are not sitting in front of the tv all day. But I still don't get why it's so popular. Maybe it makes some people feel good about themselves knowing that they are a teeny bit better off than these people.

I know I'm going to get creamed for this, but I love this show. I guess it's a silly escape from my year long nightmare. One thing I can say from watching, this family really loves each other and they don't pretend to be something they're not.

Mom does extreme couponing to cover pagents for her little girl. She also tries to raise money/canned goods for people in her community. She's turned agents away and refused an offer from TLC to put them into a much larger house. We'll see what happens down the road, but so far June they seem to be just fine.

I agree with the earlier posters who believe this family knows exactly how they are being portrayed and don't care a whit. This is in contrast to some reality shows where the subjects seem to be unaware they are being patronized.

I've watched Honey Boo Boo once. Once was enough for me, but I can see that some others might consider it fun and it's certainly harmless. My daughter-in-law is a big fan.

This is the way world ends. Not with a bang, but a Boo Boo.

I can't imagine watching this. She is a rather disagreeable-looking pudgy kid. What's to like?

Spanky McFarland was pudgy too, but then again people were more realistic back then and accepted the fact kids come in all shapes and sizes.

Re #8, from my dictionary:

factoid: a brief or trivial item of information; an assumption or speculation that is repeated so often that it becomes accepted as fact

11, as South Park indicated, the bar is low. They were not making (relatively) much per episode. The mom is 34, th edaughter, who is pregnant is 17. I am glad they are making money and not doing anything illegal, but I hate these people as much as I detest most reality show types indicated by #2.